Trying to be bad is a real pain when I keep getting rewared with good karma for killing Ghouls and Fiends, this never happened in FO3 you only got good karma for killing bad people who you could talk to, if its going to be stupid like this I might as well get good karma for killing super mutants because they are evil. Or even get good karma for picking up tin cans and empty bottles because I'm stopping littering.

Karma doesn't really matter in New Vegas, its all about faction reputation.

No I know that I would just prefer to be evil

It could be considered a good thing to put those who's minds have gone and are now basically animals to sleep.
And fiends are like Raiders in FO3.
They're just evil.
There is no gray area or anything.
They're just sick psychopathic bastards so putting a bullet between their head is a good thing.
If you want to get bad karma then steal a bunch of stuff, sell people out/stab them in the back in quests and kill prospectors and caravans.

How are super mutants evil?
Have you ever been in jacops town?

Well then I must ask you, wouldn't a character of pure evil NOT kill Fiends and Ghouls as they have the potential to kill other random strangers?

If you see a murderer (say, a Fiend) you have two choices:
A: Allow him to keep murdering people
B: Kill him

Which do you think is the more "evil" option?

You killed him, people of the world like this, hence you get good karma. But remember, that Fiend is just as evil as you are, which is why he's trying to kill you.

Well not all of them, I guess I was being super mutant-ist but alot of them are.

It doesn't make that much sense though. Who do gang members kill more than anyone else? Other gang members. Does that make them good people, since they are killing other bad people?

If you do more good than harm, why not? You are helping make the wasteland safer, after all. People should value your contribution.

You lay down a damn good point but they should be just another thing to kill. There arent many random folk I can kill with out messing with missions

you can't relate it to a real life circumstances. Gang members killing gang members is a basic idea, you have to go further in depth to really find the good and evil of it before you can consider the possibilities. Not to mention, the raiders don't kill other raiders, they kill propsecters caravans, townfolk.

I have not seen a single evil super mutant. ones at Black Mountain just dont like you coming in their home. is that evil?
Nightkin are just mad. is being mad evil?

Then be a villain with good publicity.

He's hostile to you, killing him is a survival instinct. It should be neutral, no good or evil involved.

The Fiends kill people solely for entertainment, meat, sadistic pleasure, forced intimacy or money.
They don't care about anyone.
They'd slit your throat for 10 caps just so they could get a fix.
They are in now way good people or "misunderstood".
I know that The Legion seems like sadistic [censored]s as well but at least they have a goal for doing what they do.
They might be considered evil at the moment but what if they won and restored peace to the wasteland in a century or two?
It would make all "evil" things they did in the past worth it cause because of what they did something good came out of it.
So it's left open to the player whether or not to consider them good or evil.
But give one example where Fiends can be considered good people?

Good thing Karma isn't good/evil. It's Karma.

You're missing the point of what Karma IS

Karma is the reaction to your actions from other people, thats ALL it is.

You still killed an enemy of the general population of the Mojave, they are happy about this...hence the karma.

If it really bothers you that much, find some innocent "good people" and murder them.

edit: don't care at all

I thought that's what reputation was? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma isn't really about what other people think at all.

There are good reasons to kill fiends, if you're going in to specifically clear them out and take out Motor-runner, it's a good action. If you're just passing through and they attack you, or you kill them because you want their drugs and guns, then it's not a good action.

But since it's too complex to make this distinction in the game, it should be neutral.

all the decisions i've made in the game thus far have seem to be geared towards what would be considered morally "good". my character, however, is stated being as very evil according to the karma system. the reason? because every time i loot from an enemy/evil/fiend settlement or faction i get dinged in karma. i think it's kind of neat that you receive bad karma for stealing, even if it's from an enemy as well. i guess stealing is bad anyway you chalk it up. what doesn't make sense is how you can receive bad karma for something as little as stealing in the wasteland but flat out murdering npcs has no effect. granted there's no effect if they don't belong to a faction or if there's no witnesses. i know the karma system really has no effect on gameplay but what are the factors that guide the karma? for instance, why do i receive good karma on some of the powder gangers i kill but others i don't.

anyway, speaking of stealing. one thing i am truly happy with in this game is no NPCs saying this every time i happen to look at something near them:

"yes i can see you eying that..."

I also don't like getting bad karma for stealing from people I'm enemies with.. But I guess it is stealing no matter who's side your on.

Eh, the only conclusion I can draw is that it's good because you're freeing those souls from their bodies.